Just a newly stitched number five on the arm sleeve of every pinstriped uniform.
In essence, the New York Yankees reacted to Joe DiMaggio's death in the same dignified manner the Yankee Clipper was so revered for.
Despite Joe D's remarkable battle against death, which was in some ways more impressive than his seemingly unbreakable record 56-game hitting streak, everyone knew this was coming.
For this wasn't a day to feel overwhelmingly sad. Instead, it was a day to pay last respects to a man who left an indelible image down to the last day of his 84-year life.
For someone as universally respected as Joe D, it was almost natural for respect to pour out of the players' mouths as they spoke of him.
These Yankees -- winners of two world championships the last three years -- have a quiet swagger about them that is difficult to take away.
But DiMaggio had the rare ability to cut them down to size .
"The first time I ever met him was right after I joined the Yankees," remembered All-Star pitcher David Cone. "He said, 'I've seen you pitch before. Sometimes you look unhittable. And other times, you're hittable.'"
Ouch.
"I walked out of there with my tail between my legs," laughed Cone.
That was just the way Joe D was. A straight shooter.
"I was just flattered he knew who I was," Cone said.
When DiMaggio walked into the Yankee clubhouse -- something he would typically do every Opening Day and Old-Timers Day -- he never felt crowded or overwhelmed.
That's because the Yankees were too busy observing him like a monument rather than the living legend he was.
"When Joe D came in to the clubhouse, everyone just stood still and looked," said the guts of these Yankees, right fielder Paul O'Neill. "He was Joe DiMaggio. That's all you could do.
"When Yogi (Berra) came in, I'd be like, 'Hey Yogi, it's great to have you here.' But with Joe D, you'd just stand back to see if he'd notice you," said Cone.
"Sure, there are still great players today," acknowledged O'Neill. "But I don't know if there are any larger than life figures like Babe Ruth and Joe DiMaggio."
BUT UNLIKE THE BABE, whose off-field carousing was as legendary as his home runs, the beauty of DiMaggio was the unknown.
"I would just shake his hand but was too shy to ask him anything. There was just a mystique about him," said shortstop Derek Jeter, who has already been anointed as the guy who will lead this Yankee team into the millennium. "Not too many people knew what he did."
The only thing people ever knew about DiMaggio's off-field life was his marriage to actress Marilyn Monroe. But he even managed to keep most of those details quiet.
"He was a very intriguing figure when you consider how scrutinized today's athlete is," Cone said. "He was probably the last guy to successfully guard his privacy and retain his dignity."
And DiMaggio didn't just do that until the end of his career, but rather up to the day he died.
"Right down to the end, this guy did it his way," said Cone. "As soon as he got out of his coma, he told the doctors to clam up about his condition. He said, 'I'll do the talking.' To me, that was remarkable."
Remarkable seems such a trite way to describe DiMaggio. And really, there aren't many words that can do such a legend justice.
There wasn't just the hitting streak. And the nine world championships. And the three MVPs. But countless other acts of magnificence that are just now coming out in the wake of his death.
"Yogi said Joe D never had to dive for a ball because he always just happened to be there," said Yankees manager Joe Torre, who grew up in Brooklyn and recalls seeing DiMaggio play a handful of times as a youngster. "Joe got a great jump on balls and just made it look effortless."
"I didn't know this before today, but he had just eight more strikeouts in his career than home runs," said an awed Jeter. "He struck out 369 times his whole career. I think I had that the last two years."
Those are just the sheer numbers and remembrances, which only those connected with the game would know. But it was almost impossible to exist -- in baseball or otherwise -- without knowing about Joe D.
Said Jeter: "I was talking about this with (Chuck) Knoblauch earlier today. Yogi and Reggie (Jackson) and all those guys were great players in their own sort of ways. But Joe had a song. Now, that's taking it to another level.
"I remember as a little kid hearing that song Mrs. Robinson and there was the lyric about Joe. That was the first time I ever heard of Joe DiMaggio," said Paul O'Neill.
BUT IT WOULD BE FAR FROM THE LAST.
"Nobody in this locker room ever saw him play, except on film," said O'Neill. "But we all knew how big he was. He had such a great impact on this country, this game and this team."
"His death brings sadness not just for the Yankee organization," GM Brian Cashman said. "He was a fabric of America. Very few people touch so many generations."
Or so many baseball players.
"Every player would love to be like Joe DiMaggio," Jeter said.
But some things are even more impossible than 56-game hitting streaks.
